Monday Night Rushes – Who, Trek, Melies, Roth, Hyperion And More

The Christmas edition of Doctor Who Magazine is rather retro looking – and might just give a hint as to where Amy and Rory will feature in The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe. [Facebook]

Tony Kaye, who still doesn’t make enough films, is in talks to direct Attachment (as opposed to being attached to direct Talking, or talking about his attachment to Direction). It’s a stalker thriller in which a woman has a one night stand with one of her students only for him to then insinuate himself back into her life by dating her daughter. I’d find it hilarious if they were to go for a Prime reteam and cast Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman, but I think we’re probably at least a generation out there. [Variety]

The Wrap premiered this clip from Declaration of War, France’s entry in the Foreign Language Oscar category. It stars and was directed by Valerie Donzelli and is based upon her own life, detailing what happens (or, indeed, happened) when her son is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Brad Garrett is negotiating to play an accountant in the Vegas magic comedy, Burt Wonderstone, with Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. Possibly the least glamorous role in the film. [THR]

Here’s the official UK trailer for W.E, the Wallis Simpson drama directed by Madonna and derided by the critical masses. It has Abbie Cornish and Andrea Riseborough, so it can’t be a total washout, though… can it?

In Rivals, Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis will play politicians competing for a seat in North Carolina. Director Jay Roach hasn’t just got comedy on his resume, with the Austin Powers films, for example, but also the rather superb Recount, about the 2008 US election and attendant corruption. Thomas Middleditch has just joined the cast of Rivals as “a slacker.” All political campaigns have them. [Variety]

Fox sent me this really rather groovy cover art for the next Futurama set, comprising season 6 across a pair of Blu-ray discs.

Winona Ryder is stepping up to replace Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Iceman. She’ll be playing the wife of the title character, a contract killer who also lived a pretty normal family life. The Iceman, aka Richard Kuklinski is to be played by Chris Evans. [Deadline]

Stephen Daldry was once attached to turn Michael Chabon’s heroically ambitious novel The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay into a movie. That never happened, but he now says he’d like to turn it into an eight part series for HBO. The only thing is, he’s not discussed this with HBO or Paramount, who hold the rights. So… yeah. He can want all he likes. It ain’t gonna happen. [Collider]

Justin Theroux is creating, and writing the pilot for an animated series for Fox. It’s going to be about a curmudgeonly liberal who pines for the nineties. Eh? [Vulture]

Russell Brand is creating an animated series most likely headed for Fox. It’s probably not about a curmudgeonly liberal who pines for the nineties. Dan Fybel and Rich Rinaldi will write the pilot. [Vulture]

Olive is, reputedly, the first feature length film to be shot entirely on smartphones. Gena Rowlands apparently has a starring role, which means I’m just going to have to watch it – she’s probably my favourite actress of all time. Here are the first five minutes.

I liked Rachel Klein’s novel, and I really like director Mary Harron – let’s get her on a Marvel movie, shall we? – so I’m glad that IFC have picked up the rights to The Moth Diaries and will release it… one day. They’re not telling. [Variety]

Eli Roth is to direct a 13-episode adaptation of Hemlock Grove, an upcoming novel “set against the backdrop of our darkest myths, adolescent deceptions, ravenous relationships and rumors of a werewolf.” This will be the third TV commission by Netflix after the new Arrested Development and a Fincher-powered do over of Andrew Davies’ incredible House of Cards. I think Roth is great, so I’m very pleased to hear about this.[Deadline]

George Takei is taking matters into his own hands. It seems that William Shatner and Carrie Fisher have been stoking the flames of rivalry between Star franchises Trek and Wars, and Takei thinks things are getting silly. Of course, this isn’t exactly making them any less so.

Eva Longoria is a TV producer now, and has sold scripts to CW and ABC. She’s not written them, mind, despite the misconception that she has which is currently sweeping social media (at the pace of a snail). [Variety]

Paul Feig has been talking about Dumb Jock, his follow up to Bridesmaids:

I call it an unconventional love story, but it’s a story about the building of what will become the world’s strongest marriage with two unlikely people… But it’s not even the marriage. It’s a love story. It’s an origins story if you will of how these two people meet and how it takes off from there.

He’s hoping to shoot in April. The film will star Melissa McCarthy and, if he says yes, Jon Hamm – though Hamm’s name doesn’t come in the interview, Feig certainly mentioned it to me a few weeks back. [Hit Fix]

Ice Cube wants everybody back for his new installment in the Friday series. Which really means Chris Tucker, I think. [TMZ]

Thanks to Twitch for this trailer for Johnnie To’s Romancing In Thin Air:

There’s a movie version of Wither on the cards. Lauren DeStefano’s novel is about the aftermath of a failed genetic manipulation attempt which, instead of perfecting the human race, leaves them with very short life expectancies – twenty five for females, twenty for males.[Variety]

Charlotte Gainsbourg is in talks to take the title role in Lars von Trier’s next movie, Nymphomaniac. He’s going to need more actresses too – the film apparently charts the sexual life of a woman from birth until the age of 50. The film is going to be released in two versions, one of which will feature unsimulated, explicit sex – a trick Gainsbourg and von Trier last pulled with Antichrist, thanks to a cut away to body doubles. [Variety]

It’s Christmas, so it’s time to make paper snowflakes and stick them in the window. Apparently. If you’re going to oblige, perhaps you’ll consider a Star Wars twist. These are by the very same man who photoshopped Ewoks into his family photos. [Star Wars Blog]

Manos: The Hands of Fate is the current most popular candidate for WORST FILM EVER. NPR have spoken to Ben Solovey, the 26 year old – he’s not much over half the age of the film – dedicated to restoring it. He’s planning to release it on Blu-ray in the nicest possible transfer.

Guy Ritchie has written a sequel to RockNRolla and says:

I think it’s a great script, and Joel [Silver] wants to pay for me to do it. But up until now we haven’t had the time to do it. It’s sitting there and we’d all like to do it, it’s just a question of when we’re going to fit it in. So we’ll wait and see.

I’ll happily wait but I’d rather not see, thanks very much. [Movieline]

Simon Pegg hasn’t read the script for the new Star Trek quite yet, but he does know part of the story. Just part of it. That’s probably a bit annoying for you, isn’t it, Simon? [Filmz/Trek Web]

The workers at the LTC post-production labs were on strike last Friday. An unexpected casualty of their actions was Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, all of the French 35mm 2D prints of which were awaiting development. Italian labs have stepped in to “save the day” and get enough copies of the film in circulation for Wednesday’s big release. [Deadline]

This first image for the BBC’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood inexplicably turned up in Brazil. [Veja]

Bradley Cooper says he’ll team up with his writing partner and script the Hyperion screenplay this summer. It’s Cooper’s intention to direct. [Metro]

Meanwhile, Cooper’s current project, Alex Proyas’ performance captured version of Paradise Lost, has been put on hold for a few budget trims. Well, if Lone Ranger can come back from the brink… [Deadline]

Universal have taken dibs on a new sci-fi thriller from Luc Besson. Angelina Jolie looks set to make it her next acting job, with filming kicking off in Paris in April. It’s apparently going to be a cross between Leon and The Fifth Element. Meanwhile, Universal want another piece of Ms. Jolie, and are trying to get purchase on a Gertrude Bell biopic that Ridley Scott intends to put her in. [THR]

Check out the (mainly) good looking cast for Summer in February: Dominic Cooper, Hattie Morahan, Dan Stevens and Ophelia Lovibond. The film is to be an adaptation of the novel about Edwardian artists up to all kinds of arty-romantic-scandalous behaviour in Cornwall. [THR]

William Brent Bell is expected to follow up The Devil Inside with Kidnap, a thriller about a woman attempting to rescue her son after he is snatched at the mall. [The Wrap]

Here’s a clip from Chop, directed by Trent Haaga, writer of the incomparable Deadgirl and sometime twisted spleen of Troma. [Dread Central]

The band Spacedog have recorded a tribute song to Tommy Cooper, complete with a monologue by Derren Brown. 25% of proceeds will be donated to the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund.

Contrary to rumours in the ether, Emma Thompson’s Effie has pretty much completed shooting without the crew embarking on a full mutiny. [Screendaily]

Air composed a score for the newly restored Voyage Dans La Lune, one of my Six Movies I Couldn’t Give Up. Be warned that this clip kind of gives away the end of the film. [NPR]

Forrest Whitaker is lining up three films to direct: a drama about Ugandan child soldiers called Better Angels; the long-delayed sequel to Waiting to Exhale, called Getting to Happy; and a biopic of Louis Armstrong, written by Ron Bass and Nicholas Pileggi. [The Playlist]

This promo for Christmas on ITV is a lot longer than the BBC equivalent, but only a fraction as appealing. Still, there’s a bit of Downton in here and that will get some folk drooling.

I’m up way past my bedtime. Goodnight!

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